So I haven't had any water problems in years but I was doing other work and decided to pull back the carpet to check and see the condition. There's definitely some rust but not a ton. I found a white triangular piece of insulation in plastic under both the carpet and the firewall foam. Is this supposed to be here and is it just insulation? Also, for the rust, what should I do? Sand it down, clean it up and spray some rust inhibitor something on it?

Thanks!



Insulation/Foam under carpet and firewall foam where floor transitions up to firewall.

Passenger floor pan right behind cross member

Passenger floor pan right side

Passenger floor pan right before cross member

Passenger floor pan right before cross member

Passenger front side

Front passenger floor pan looking back from firewall.

 

That's a moisture absorber put there by the factory that built it. I found them in my 98 when I pulled the carpet to clean it.

 

That rust doesnt look too bad, but looks can be deceiving. Poke it with a screwdriver or hit it with a hammer to see how solid it is. If you dont see any holes, grind or sand it so all the rust is gone. Self etching primer followed by paint. But if you see holes, they will need patched, or panels replaced.

Not sure about that pad.

 

were yours still damp?

 

Agreed. My 98 looked a little more severe towards the front of both pans and after some wire wheeling with an electric die grinder holes opened up in various places. It took me a couple of weeks to grind away the rust (using stones) above and below the pans to get to bright metal. I fiberglassed both sides, which took me about a week to complete, that included painting with POR15, then priming and topcoating with a good Rustoleum enamel. I wasn't going too lay down replacement pads and carpet unless I was sure the pans were repaired. In that XJ I found the top seal on the windshield to have failed causing water to enter; especially on the top left corner where it dripped directly onto the master door control shorting it out.

 

That is indicative of a bad water leak. You need to find and fix leak before starting repair. some leaks can be difficult to trace, but with flooring and some side interior panels removed, the leak source should be easier to spot that otherwise.

 

Each person has their own idea of what rust is considered "bad". That rust would be alarming to me. I'll be surprised(and happy for you) if you don't end up with holes enough to need patched or replaced floor pans.

I would rent, but or find a media blaster and start blasting all that rust and see what you end up with.